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The five fights that defined Conor McGregor's career

Heading into the biggest fight of his career, Conor McGregor's short but poignant MMA career

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Written BySteven Muehlhausen

Conor McGregor isn't just the UFC's biggest star, but the
biggest in all of MMA. But, it wasn't always that way for the UFC
lightweight champion.

Days before his UFC debut against Marcus Brimage in April 2013,
McGregor collected a welfare check for $235. After winning in 67
seconds and securing a $60,000 bonus for his handywork, McGregor
never returned to that office.

In just 48 months, McGregor went from outhouse to penthouse, and
is in for a likely $100 million-plus check for one night's work vs.
Floyd Mayweather.

It has been an adventurous road on the way to a showdown which
no ever thought would happen, except for McGregor.

Now we here and will walk you through the journey of McGregor's
career leading to Aug. 26 in Sin City.

Steven Muehlhausen is an MMA and boxing writer and
contributor for Sporting News. You can listen to his podcast, "The
Fight Junkies" here . You can email him at stevemuehlhausen@yahoo.com
and can find him on Twitter @SMuehlhausenMMA .

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#5

McGregor vs. Brandao

Date: July 19, 2014

Event: UFC Fight Night 46

Questions arose heading into McGregor's first headlining
position in the UFC.

Would he be the same in his first fight back after tearing his
ACL in a fight against Max Holloway the previous August? How would
handle fighting in front of sold-out, raucous crowd of 9,500
at The O2 in his hometown of Dublin, Ireland?

With laser-like focus, McGregor overcame an aggressive Brandao
with pinpoint accuracy. McGregor put on a kickboxing clinic to
win by TKO at 4:05 in Round 1.

McGregor showed he could deliver when the light shined brightest
— which become the norm.

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#4

McGregor vs. Mendes

Date: July 11, 2015

Event: UFC 189

After making quick work of Dustin Poirier and Dennis Siver
respectively, McGregor was set to headline his first pay-per-view
against then-reigning featherweight champion Jose Aldo at UFC
189.

A worldwide tour had taken place and the animosity had been
brewing at each stop. It had reached a fever pitch by the time
the tour had ended. All that needed to happen now was for the fight
to happen.

Unfortunately, the fight didn't happen: Aldo suffered
a rib injury 10 days before the fight and had to pull out.
Diego Mendes stepped up to the plate and the interim UFC
featherweight title would hang in the balance.

Not many were giving McGregor a chance to win. The knock on
McGregor at the time was he wouldn't be able to handle the
superior wrestling skills from someone the caliber of Mendes,
who had previously fought for the title.

The Irish faithful traveled to Las Vegas and sold-out the MGM
Grand Garden Arena to witness history. It wasn't a good start for
McGregor as Mendes took him down and was able to cut McGregor over
his right eye.

In the second round, McGregor displayed the heart of a champion:
He stuffed takedown attempts and used his heavy left
hand to knock out Mendes with three seconds remaining in the
round to become the interim champion.

UFC 189 was a success at the gate, as it drew over
$7.2 million (to break a U.S. record), and around 825,000
pay-per-view buys. The event established McGregor as
legitimate live and PPV attraction.

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#3

McGregor vs. Aldo

Date: Dec. 12, 2015

Event: UFC 194

With Mendes out of the way, the UFC re-booked Aldo vs. McGregor
for UFC 194.

Once again, fans said McGregor had barked too much and Aldo
would be the one to shut him up. He had been undefeated for a
little bit over 10 years, won 18 consecutive fights and
regarded as the greatest featherweight of all-time, and
moreover, one of the all-time greats.

The prevailing thought was, there was no way McGregor
would be able to overcome those obstacles.

That all changed with one straight left hand and 13 seconds
later, McGregor became the undisputed 145-pound and the greatest
featherweight in MMA history.

This fight cemented McGregor as the biggest attraction in the
sport as it set the North American gate record of $10.1
million with an attendance of 16,516 and generated over 1.25
million PPV buys.

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#2

McGregor vs. Diaz II

Date: Aug. 20, 2016

Event: UFC 202

McGregor suffered his UFC loss when he submitted
to Nate Diaz at UFC 196 in Mar. 2016.

A potential reason for the loss: McGregor took the fight on
13-days notice and the fight took place at 170 pounds. The
persistent McGregor — who always wants to prove people
wrong — insisted the rematch take place at UFC 202, and that
the fight once again take place at welterweight.

Many thought McGregor was losing it when he wanted to do the
fight under the same circumstances.

What a fight it was, as McGregor and Diaz went toe-to-toe for
five rounds and put on the best fight of 2016 with McGregor winning
by majority decision.

More records were set by McGregor as he had the highest reported
guaranteed purse in UFC history at $3 million and set a PPV record
for buys at a estimated 1.65 million.

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#1

McGregor vs. Alvarez

Date: Nov. 12, 2016

Event: UFC 205

In the fight made this Saturday's fight a reality, McGregor was
looking to make history once again when he looked to become the
first fighter in UFC history to hold two titles at the same
time.

But standing in front of McGregor was one of the greatest
lightweights in MMA history in Alvarez, who is the only fighter to
win UFC and Bellator world titles.

In the first UFC event in New York City and a sold-out crowd of
20,427 at Madison Square Garden, McGregor made Alvarez look like an
amateur, dominating from start to finish, in a second-round
TKO win to become the first fighter to hold two UFC titles
simultaneously in different weight classes.

Now, the question is: Can McGregor do the unthinkable and prove
everyone wrong once again?